Few things are better than settling down with a good book, but sometimes the settling is easier said than done. Between a long commute, making dinner, or just getting some fresh air outside, there are some times that a traditional book (or even an e-reader) just won’t cut it. For all those times, there’s no better place to turn than audiobooks.
But not all audiobooks are created equal. Some have a narrator you just can’t stand, a cast that’s a little too full of energy, or a plot and structure that’s far too confusing to follow just by listening. All these options making picking your next audiobook a bit of a chore, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Whether you’re a seasoned audiobook listener who’s looking for a hidden gem, or a busy traveler looking to keep catch up on some modern classics, here are a few of Polygon’s favorite audiobooks assembled for your enjoyment.
Image: Scholastic
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Michael Crouch, Ramón de Ocampo, Emily Ellet, Sisi Aisha Johnson, Adam Verner
There are 62 books in the sci-fi young adult series Animorphs, a surprisingly dark series about a group of kids who gain the ability to turn into animals and must use their powers to fight an ongoing alien invasion. And since 2020, every single book in the series has slowly been coming out on audiobook, all the way up to the 54th book in the series, titled The Beginning. Although I’m not sure when the entire series will be recorded, it’s absolutely worth the journey — and the wait for the last few books to finish recording. Different actors read each book in the series, since each book is narrated by a different kid in the group of super-powered friends; the same actors play the same kids across the entire run thus far, and all of their performances are fantastic. —Maddy Myers
Image: HarperCollins
Narrated by: Quentin Tarantino and Edoardo Ballerini
Quentin Tarantino’s essay collection — loosely focused on the genre cinema of the 1970s — glides between film criticism, criticism of film criticism, and self-criticism. One moment, Tarantino’s sharing a detailed account of his childhood trips to budget theaters with his mom’s boyfriend, the next he’s chronicling the careers of the LA film critic scene, and then, with his iconic spitfire pace, he whips together a five-course meal from a largely forgotten neo-noir.
While it’s nice to learn more about Tarantino, he can’t shake his career-long habit of self-mythologization. The book’s most memorable sections allow the director to rave (or shred) the movies that contributed tools to his cinematic kit. Tarantino himself provides narration for a portion of the book. While it would be nice to have had the writer/director/author’s narration for the entire essay collection, his VO companion is one of my favorite audiobook voices: Edoardo Ballerini, a two-time winner of the Audie Award. (Yes, audiobooks have awards too!) —Chris Plante
Image: Bloomsbury Publishing
Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda and Stina Nielsen
Listening to faerie smut like this got me into running, because I’d rather run another 100 yards than stop mid-chapter. The dramatized audiobooks for A Court of Thorns and Roses are probably the most popular option — they’re cast with different voice actors for each character, and the audio-engineered foley sounds help you envision the scenes as they happen. Personally, I like regular, single-narrator versions, particularly A Court of Silver Flames, narrated by Stina Nielsen — her husky voice is perfect for Nesta’s point of view. —Zoë Hannah
Image: Ace
Dune by Frank Herbert
Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Ilyana Kadushin, Byron Jennings, David R. Gordon, Jason Culp, Kent Broadhurst, Oliver Wyman, Patricia Kilgarriff, Scott Sowers
After reading Dune in hardback as a teenager, I wanted a different experience when I joined a book club in 2013 and agreed to reread Frank Herbert’s trippy sci-fi tome. I went with an unabridged audiobook version that has not one, not two, but 12 readers switching off between all of the major characters in the story, adding gorgeous vocal color to its complexity with each of their performances. It’s a fantastic way to experience a book that has a lot of different people and perspectives. —MM
Image: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform via Amazon
Narrated by: Simon Templeman, Anthony Heald, Stefan Rudnicki
There are three narrators in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and therefore three readers for this audiobook, each with a pitch-perfect voice for the creepy tale. I listened to Victor Frankenstein’s shaky, nervous tremor while shoveling my car out during a snowstorm, and I’ll always remember that perfectly lonely and unsettling audiobook experience. It’s a delicious listen even if you don’t have the right setting, of course. —MM
Image: Zando
Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Justis Bolding, Laura Knight Keating, Susan Bennett, Jasmin Walker
If you like reality TV like The Bachelor and you also like horror movies — which, much like The Bachelor, can also end with a final girl — Patricia Wants to Cuddle is the book for you, ideally in audiobook form with different readers for each of the female contestants on a fictional reality dating show that goes horribly wrong. Since this book was written by a good friend of mine, I did expect to hear her voice narrating the tale, but instead I’m thrilled to recommend the roster of readers who bring her characters to life. —MM
Image: Bloomsbury Publishing
Narrated by: Liyah Summers
I had already read The Priory of the Orange Tree once when I picked up the audiobook, but listening to the sweeping fantasy epic as read by Liyah Summers was a totally new experience. (And I don’t just mean the correct pronunciations of names that were different from my pronunciations of those names.) The book is such a winding tale that it lends itself easily to being read aloud, so Summers’ narration felt like a bedtime story. If you’ve already read this one, I recommend the audiobook for its standalone prequel, A Day of Fallen Night, which is narrated by the author, along with a few other voice actors to represent a variety of points of view. —ZH
Image: Penguin Random House
Narrated by: George Saunders, Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong, and Renee Elise Goldsberry
George Saunders is that teacher who cracks open the universe and lets you look at its million interconnected gears. He doesn’t explain how the universe works (he wouldn’t pretend that’s possible) but points toward the most beautiful, puzzling, and enlightening patches and warmly asks, “How does this make you feel? And why?”
I must speak broadly about the power of Saunders’ work because I fear you will hear, “This is a collection of classic short stories by Russian authors accompanied by companion lectures,” and respond, “I only have so much time in life, and I have no plans to get a doctorate in Comp. Lit.” And yes, the book — built from Saunders’ university courses — would build the foundation for the budding career of a novelist or academic. But it’s so much more fun and, with the risk of busting my metaphor, universal.
Saunders uses beautiful writing about the meaning of life to teach us how to write, read, and appreciate beautiful writing, and how to live our most meaningful lives. Plus, he invited a bunch of brilliant actors to read the short stories, including Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, BD Wong, Keith David, and Rainn Wilson. Have I sold you yet? —CP
Image: Knopf Publishing
Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
With only two readers, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow’s cast isn’t as stacked as some of the other audiobooks that I’ve recommended for inclusion on this list. Yet the gentle voice of Jennifer Kim (and much more occasional chapters with Julian Cihi) is a huge part of what made me love this novel about a group of friends who make a video game together and fall in and out of friendship, and love, with one another along the way. Kim and Cihi are extraordinarily gifted at conveying the emotional weight required for this tender tale. —MM
Image: Penguin Random House
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò, and Orlagh Cassidy
I hesitate to recommend Trust, co-winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, on this particular list. The issue isn’t quality or even entertainment. The book is a literary masterpiece and a surprisingly enjoyable beach read. But its structure seems — at least at first — ideal for the page, not the audiobook.
Trust is, on a macro level, about the nature of extreme wealth. And on a micro level, about the solitary keeper of a fortune, his inescapable gravity, and the individuals who get caught in orbit. Author Hernan Diaz split the book into four fictional texts: a novel, an autobiography, a memoir, and a day. Some are complete and polished; others, works-in-progress. All are from different points of view. Think of it as The Great Gatsby by way of Rashomon.
Diaz uses formatting to capture a certain feeling for each text, and in theory, that’s reason enough to grab a physical copy. But! (Of course, there’s a “but.”) The audiobook performs its variation of this magic trick by casting four different narrators with four different styles. Told to you by exceptional actors, it feels like listening to people plead their case for the truth as if you’ve organized a most eloquent interrogation.
Look, if you don’t trust me, at least trust Dua Lipa! —CP